Utilizing Microsoft Teams, kinesiology graduate students from professor Scott Martyn’s class “Crisis, Politics, and Commercialism in the Modern Olympic Movement” and a select group of undergraduate students from professor Kevin Milne’s “The Use and Abuse of Drugs” class welcomed another virtual guest speaker last week: Michèle Mercier, manager of program development for the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Mercier provided an overview of the agency, established in 1999 as an independent international body composed and funded equally by the sport movement and governments of the world. In addition to answering numerous questions throughout her presentation, she spoke about the agency’s activities, including scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities, and monitoring of the World Anti-Doping Code — the document harmonizing anti-doping policies in every sport and all countries.

The virtual talk lasted well over an hour and was highly interactive with a compelling exchange that engaged students in discussion about the inner workings of the agency, its partners around the world and their efforts to promote and co-ordinate the fight against doping in sport internationally.